Camera Labs

Washington DC Zoo

Nikon D40
Nikkor 55-200mm VR @ 200mm
ISO 800, F/5.6, 1/400 sec
Shot in NEF and processed with CaptureOne LE & Photoshop Elements 5

Here's the tip: I took this image handheld at the minimum autofocus distance from the butterfly using a technique I like to call "body focus"
Because the DOF is so shallow, even a small camera movement can throw the butterfly out of focus. So I half-pressed the shutter button and slowly moved my upper body forward and backward until I got the butterfly in focus - then I fully pressed the shutter button. Having the camera set of focus priority also helps


Darrin

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Nikon D40 | Nikkor 18-55 VR | Nikkor 55-200 VR | Voigtländer Ultron 40mm SL-II | Nikon Speedlight SB-400

Awesome shot Darrin! I wouldn't have been surprised if you'd said it was taken with a pricey macro lens, so the fact you got it with the 55-200mm is even better!

How far were you from the butterfly?

Nice tip about physically moving back and forth too - I've tried that with macro work too and it can definitely be better for getting the exact spot than using the AF all the time.

Gordon

Boohoo I've never got a butterfly like this
But honestly, is this pic cropped?

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Thank you very much for the comments Gordon and Thomas!

I was at about the minimum focus distance from the butterfly, which is 3.6 ft (about 109 cm) for the 55-200mm VR - I always get as close to the subject as the AF allows for closeups like this...

Yes Thomas, there was a bit of cropping involved - from the original 3008x2000 I cropped to about 2424x1689 and then resized to 808x563 for posting. I cropped mostly to get a better composition - removed the most from the left of the original picture...

I recently started to do the conversion from NEF using CaptureOne LE - I got it for free with a Sandisk Extreme III 2G card - and I get noticeably more detail than with ACR. I still have to finalize the PP with Photoshop Elements (resizing and post sharpening, for example), but I'm really looking forward to CaptureOne LE 4.0 - I will be able to upgrade for free when they finally release it.

On this image I did selective sharpening on the butterfly but no noise reduction other than the default in CaptureOne - pretty good for ISO 800!


Darrin

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Nikon D40 | Nikkor 18-55 VR | Nikkor 55-200 VR | Voigtländer Ultron 40mm SL-II | Nikon Speedlight SB-400

I think that photo is tremendous!

We're not worthy...we're not worthy, lol.

Really a great shot mate.

Zorro.

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http://zorrofox4.deviantart.com/



Various lenses, SB800 & Manfrotto 190 with 460MG head

So if I take your cropping into account I'd say the magnification is around 1:5. Then we see a clear advantage of the 55-200 over the 18-200: The 18-200 achieves 1:5 only at a distance of around 50cm, while the 55-200 at around 1m. Nice benefit!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Thank you very much zorro!


Thomas - on slrgear.com the magnification ratio of the 55-200 VR is listed as 1:4.35 and the 18-200 VRII's as 1:4.5 - very close, but the minimum distance for the 55-200 VR makes it easier to take closeups of bugs without scarring them. The old 55-200 (without VR) had a magnification ratio of 1:3.5 at 95 cm... you win some, you lose some...

Darrin

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Nikon D40 | Nikkor 18-55 VR | Nikkor 55-200 VR | Voigtländer Ultron 40mm SL-II | Nikon Speedlight SB-400

Haha I do the same thing, especially with the D40 you kinda have to being that it only has 3 AF points.

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Canon EOS 5D + 50mm f/1.8

http://flickr.com/photos/nathan_ward

Great shot Darrin!

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Canon EOS 400D, Canon EOS 30V, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, EF 70-200mm f/4L USM, Speedlite 430EX, Kenko & Cokin filters

Thanks Roland!

Darrin

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Nikon D40 | Nikkor 18-55 VR | Nikkor 55-200 VR | Voigtländer Ultron 40mm SL-II | Nikon Speedlight SB-400

I'm so behind on catching up with these forums! Darrin, that picture is stunning. I can't get over the detail in the butterfly's wings and it's eyes! When I see pictures like that, I just want to stop whatever I'm doing and go out and try it myself. Truly inspirational:)

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Mark
Nikon D300 / Sigma 10-20mm / Nikkor 17-55 f2.8 / Nikkor 18-200mm VR / Nikkor 50mm f1.8 / SB600 Speedlight
Mark Amy Photography
My Squidoo lens - Images of China

Truly amazing. Congratulations.

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Nikon D90 + MB-D80 + SB-600 + AF-S VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 + AF-S 35mm f/1.8 + AF 85mm f/1.8 | My photos on Flickr.

Thank you very much for the comments Mark and Luis!

When weather permits, I like to spend half a Saturday or Sunday, from morning till noon, just taking pictures... it really relaxes me
I'm looking forward to it the entire week

Darrin

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Nikon D40 | Nikkor 18-55 VR | Nikkor 55-200 VR | Voigtländer Ultron 40mm SL-II | Nikon Speedlight SB-400

wow, that quality is awesome. Is it the pixels that count for the quality?? i dont really know anything about camera's, but i am trying to find one for really good wildlife animal shots

there are many factors that contribute to the image quality, that picture was taken with a d40 so was only 6mp but the camera produces great images, have a look at some of gordons reviews to see what different cameras offer. with dslrs you have interchangable lenses which can make a big difference to image quality. i think most people would say that its the photographer that makes quality pictures not the camera.

whats your budget??